THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 27, 1996 TAG: 9603260363
SECTION: MILITARY NEWS PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: SUSAN BOLAND, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
Military language had me mystified when I was first married. My wedding gown wasn't cold yet and I was being driven to the nearest ``exchange,'' since it had been declared that we needed a vacuum cleaner. I had never been to an exchange before, other than the New York Stock Exchange.
Inexperienced Navy wife that I was, I relied on the literal definition, so I assumed my husband had one of our useless wedding gifts in the trunk of the car, which we would surrender to someone at this ``exchange'' in return for the required appliance. He paid cash, and so ended my first lesson in the lingo.
I have learned a lot about military language since then, both good and bad.
In 1830 officers' wives were forbidden by the British Admiralty to accompany their husbands on warships. They evaded that law, and not only did they go along, but they also gave birth on ships. ``Son of a gun'' was originally used to refer to those children born alongside the guns of a ship. Apparently, if a woman had been in labor for an inordinate amount of time, the shock of firing a broadside would assist nature in taking its course.
Each service, at one time or another, had its own term for children within their community. The Air Force called them ``hangar bats,'' while the Navy has used ``junior.'' The latter fell to the wayside as it was associated with officers' children only, who did not want to be linked with their active-duty parent's rank.
Webster's tells us a brat is first, an ``ill-mannered annoying child'' and second, ``the son or daughter of a career military person.'' Mary Wertsch, in her book ``Military Brats,'' states that, as part of her research, she interviewed 80 military brats, only five of whom objected to the term. She saw fit to use the term in her title, since she felt it reflected the ``age-old point of view of the military-as-institution that children are a bothersome necessity.''
Language changes to reflect the culture for which it speaks. ``Wives clubs'' have become ``support groups,'' since that better reflects their current role in the military community.
Some time ago, ``dependent'' was scratched for ``family member'' because of the more positive image it presented. ``Brat'' is a derogatory term in that it detracts from the character of our children and suggests that the military community has a low opinion of its children.
We should take another look at where and why we use this word, and see if we can't come up with an alternative.
Dads are not the only ones serving anymore, so we now regularly refer to the one in the military as our ``active-duty member.''
Military terminology is so much a part of our daily routine that sometimes we stop noticing our use of it. We have all learned that vacation is ``leave,'' that a liquor store is a ``package store,'' and that a problem is a ``challenge.''
We can even understand the notion of remaining ``rigidly flexible.'' Every once in a while, however, I am reminded of how strange it can be to the unindoctrinated.
A couple of months ago my husband called me with great news: The man who was to take over his job, known in the Navy as his ``relief,'' was ``on board'' - that is, he had arrived. This was a sure sign that my husband would soon be home. I hung up the phone, and I said to my younger son, ``Dad's relief has arrived!''
To which he replied, ``Gee, Mom, I didn't know Dad suffered from heartburn.''
My son can be a little, uh, annoying? Ill-mannered? What's the word? MEMO: Susan Boland, a free-lance writer and a lecturer at the English Language
Center at Old Dominion University, is a Navy wife of 20 years. by CNB